Feature Archives

A spike in the level of radioactive iodine from Japan's Fukushima Daichii plant was discovered in milk samples in California's San Luis Obispo County in late March. On April 2nd, the EPA issued a press release stating that radioactive material in California's rainwater is the result of the nuclear disaster in Japan. While health officials assure the public that the increases present no danger, Californians are expressing deep concern about nuclear reactors that are poised near earthquake faults on the coast. Scheduled protests include in San Francisco on April 14th, Avila Beach, California, near Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, on April 16th, and Menlo Park on April 26th.

On Monday, April 4th, the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination, local coalitions participated in nationwide actions to support Wisconsin workers, public services and the middle class. Organizers of the rally at the Santa Cruz County Government Center stated, "Dr. King was killed in Memphis, TN, where he had stood with sanitation workers who were struggling for the right to bargain collectively. The actions by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to eliminate collective bargaining – and the gradual eroding of the American middle class - only undermine that struggle."

On March 19th, thousands of people took to the streets to demand an end to U.S. war and military intervention abroad and funding for peoples' needs at home. Demonstrations took place in San Francisco, Fresno, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and many other cities across the United States and the world. At the opening rally in San Francisco, speakers condemned the launching of a new war against Libya, which had begun just hours before.

To mark the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day, the Global Women’s Strike held the 2nd Annual Mother's March on March 8th in San Francisco. The Mother's March also takes place in other parts of the state, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, as well as in Haiti, Guyana, India, Peru and the UK. In their call-out for the march, organizers wrote: "Mothers produce/care for the world's people. Most women do caring work: grandmothers, mothers, daughters, partners. Unrecognized, unpaid or low-paid, women care for children, elders, people with disabilities, and each other."

For the past two years, California has been in an ongoing struggle against cuts to education and public services. On March 4th, 2010, students, teachers, faculty, workers, and supporters statewide held coordinated Strike and Day of Action in defense of public education and public services. This year, California's new governor, democrat Jerry Brown, is planning to cut $1.4 Billion from public higher education, and students across the state demonstrated in coordinated actions on March 2nd and over the following days.

On February 11th, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Republican state legislators introduced legislation to end collective bargaining for public employees on the premise that the attack on unions was motivated by budgetary concerns. Within a week, tens of thousands of public employees and labor supporters were demonstrating daily in the capital of Madison. Protests and solidarity rallies have since spread across the U.S. On February 26th, rallies were held in over 50 U.S. cities as part of a national day of action to demand an end to the attacks on workers' rights and public services across the country.

On February 26th at U.N. Plaza in San Francisco, a solidarity rally was held in support of the uprisings in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Morocco. The organizers wrote: "Libya is under attack by the long ruling, deranged and brutal dictator, Muammer Qaddafi. Through[out] the past few days hundreds of people have been left dead and thousands injured.... We need all our brothers and sisters from around the world to join in and let our voices be heard — Enough Is Enough."